PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Intellectual Property & Science business of Thomson Reuters, the world leader in intelligent information for businesses and professionals, announced its 2014 "Nobel-class" Citation Laureates today. Having accurately forecast 35 Nobel Prize winners since its inception in 2002, the annual Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates study mines scientific research citations to identify the most influential researchers in the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine and economics.

This year, noteworthy nominees on the Thomson Reuters list include, in the field of physiology or medicine, David Julius, for elucidating the molecular workings of how our nerves process the sensation of pain, opening the way to new advances in pain management; and, Charles Lee, Stephen W. Scherer, and Michael H. Wigler, for their research clarifying how specific genetic variations link to disease. In physics, the list includes Peidong Yang, for his work with light-generating nanowires which can be used for data storage and optical computing. In chemistry, Ching W. Tang and Steven Van Slyke are notable for their invention of the organic light emitting diode, a technology that is now ubiquitous in smartphones, tablets and high definition televisions. In economics, William J. Baumol and Israel M. Kirzner are noted for their advancement of the study of entrepreneurism.

The complete list of the 2014 Nobel predictions includes 27 researchers representing 27 distinct academic and research organizations across nine different countries.

"Scientific literature citations are one of the greatest dividends of a researcher's intellectual investment," said Basil Moftah, president of Thomson Reuters IP & Science. "Our aggregation and analysis of citation information provides unique insight into individuals contributing highly impactful work and enables us to identify candidates likely to receive a Nobel Prize."

The annual Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates study is based on an analysis of proprietary data within the Web of ScienceTM -- the premier global search and discovery platform for the sciences, social sciences and arts and humanities--which identifies the most influential researchers in the categories of chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, and economics. After a thorough review of citations, along with various qualitative measures, Thomson Reuters analysts identify the highest-impact researchers to be included among its Citation Laureates, who are likely winners of the Nobel Prize now or in the future.

For detailed information on the methodology of this study, the Citation Laureates, and their fields of research, visit ScienceWatch, an open-Web resource for science metrics and research performance analysis.

Follow @TR_ScienceWatch on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news on the predictions and deeper insight into their fields of research. Facebook users are encouraged to submit their own predictions for the 2014 Nobel Prize winners and take part in Nobel discussions on the Web of Science Facebook page.

For development of the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization process

Ching W. Tang

Professor of Chemical Engineering and Bank of East Asia Professor, Institute for Advanced Study, University of Rochester, and Chair Professor in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Rochester, NY USA and Hong Kong, CHINA

William J. Baumol Professor of Economics and Harold Price Professor of Entrepreneurship, New York University New York, NY USA

-and-

Israel M. Kirzner Emeritus Professor of Economics, New York University New York, NY USA

For their advancement of the study of entrepreneurism

Mark S. Granovetter Joan Butler Ford Professor and Chair of Sociology, and Joan Butler Ford Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University Stanford, CA USA

For his pioneering research in economic sociology

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